White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed that the U.S. economy was beginning to ramp up amid a nationwide panic following President Donald Trump’s so-called “liberation day” tariff announcement.
“GREAT NEWS! The economy is starting to roar with a strong 228,000 jobs added in the month of March — well ahead of the market’s expectation,” Leavitt wrote on X, formerly Twitter, citing data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released Friday.
Despite the anxieties surrounding the Trump administration’s deep cuts to the federal work force, approximately 228,000 nonfarm jobs were added in March, according to the survey. Unemployment rose slightly, from 4.1% to 4.2%, and the bureau noted that government employment declined.
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Leavitt attributed positive news in the labor market to Trump’s “push to onshore jobs,” but many manufacturing companies in the U.S. have laid off workers as a result of Trump’s economic policies, including steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs and automaker Stellantis, which owns Jeep, Citroen and Ram.
She also mentioned “a sharp increase” in construction, but the BLS said there was “little change” in that industry.
The increased jobs were predominantly in health care, social assistance and transportation, according to the survey. Warehousing employment also contributed to the increase in the labor market, which Leavitt noted, though BLS did not cite the reason.
The March BLS report was released two days after Trump announced a blanket 10% tariff on all countries, set to take effect April 5. Higher tariffs on a number of Asian countries, as well as those in the European Union, are slated to take effect April 9.
Leavitt’s optimistic message came as the stock market experienced a free fall, worsened by China retaliating against the U.S. with its own 34% tariff on all U.S. products beginning April 10.
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Trump criticized China’s retaliation on his Truth Social website, stating “CHINA PLAYED IT WRONG, THEY PANICKED – THE ONE THING THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO DO!”
Meanwhile, many economists and government officials worry about the tariffs’ long-term impacts and fear further repercussions against the American people. J.P. Morgan economists believe Trump’s policies may push the U.S. into a recession, putting the odds of a recession occurring at 60%.
“We face a highly uncertain outlook with elevated risks of both higher unemployment and higher inflation,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Friday, per CNN. “While tariffs are highly likely to generate at least a temporary rise in inflation, it is also possible that the effects could be more persistent.”
